WEST DUNDEE - Ethel Schmit of Carpentersville bent down to pet Tulip, a black-and-brown shepherd mix who had been rescued from Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina."I feel so sorry for them," Schmit said. "They're so precious."Schmit was one of dozens of people who went to Spring Hill Mall in West Dundee on Saturday and saw five dogs being offered for adoption.They were the last of 38 dogs that Nadine Conner rescued in September and October from Hammond, La., a city north of Lake Pontchartrain.The dogs on display at the mall went home with the foster families that are taking care of them before they are adopted. Conner requires potential owners who want to adopt one of the dogs to wait at least a day "so it's a logical decision instead of an emotional one."Conner, manager of Critters Pet Store in St. Charles, said the dogs were fixed, up to date on vaccinations, and healthy after being treated for infections or illnesses. The veterinarian bills for the dogs came to about $8,000, which is not fully covered by the $120 adoption charge, she said.People who wanted to adopt the dogs needed to meet requirements, Conner said. Other dogs or cats in the home must be spayed or neutered, for example, and the potential owner must own a home or have a landlord's consent to have a dog, she said.Three-year-old Joshua Fodor of Carpentersville stroked the coat of Tulip but knew what his mother, Heather Fodor, would say if he asked for a dog."I can't keep her," he said. "My cats are afraid of dogs."Morgan Jones, 5, and her 3-year-old brother, Dylan Jones, of Sleepy Hollow, took a liking to Daisy Mae, a shy Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog. Morgan Jones said she thought that the dog was cute and wanted to have a new dog after the family's two Dalmatians died.Brittany Traut, 10, and her brother, Alex Traut, 7, of Carpentersville, liked a Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog named Emma Louise."It's really cute," Brittany Traut said as her friend Brianna Duffer, 10, agreed."It's so adorable," Duffer said.Brittany and Alex's mother, Tricia Traut, 36, said they would learn more than the responsibility of owning a dog."It's a way to participate helping in the rescue," Tricia Traut said.So many families have called Conner about adopting rescued dogs that her cell-phone battery died."I had to sit in my car with the battery plugged into the car," she said.Most of the dogs that Conner rescued have been adopted, but other agencies have pets that need owners."There are hundreds of rescued dogs here that need homes," she said.Adoption contactsFor information about adopting the dogs rescued by Nadine Conner after Hurricane Katrina, call (630) 772-1396. For information on other rescued animals are up for adoption, visit www.save-a-pet-il.org.